Man pleads guilty to harrowing sexual assault on senior

A 44-year-old man pleaded guilty Wednesday to the kidnapping, robbery and sexual assault of a 71-year-old woman who he took on a harrowing four-hour ride through snowy rural roads three years ago, threatening to kill her along the way and assaulting her in a deserted church parking lot.

The Crown indicated that it will now seek a rare dangerous offender designation for Scott Allen McLaughlin, who has a long and violent police record, meaning he could be kept behind bars indefinitely.

The incident in question occurred Jan. 31, 2009, when McLaughlin called a cab around 1:45 p.m. He climbed into the front passenger seat of the taxi and gave the older female driver a destination. He changed his mind several times, eventually having her drive through county roads.

He grabbed the driver’s cell phone, kept in the cup holder of the front seat, and made some calls, growing angry and swearing and screaming. The victim, who cannot be identified by court order, told him he could not use the phone but he kept using it anyway.

“The accused was very upset and continued to tell her, ‘Keep driving, keep driving,'” said assistant Crown attorney Gary Nikota, reading the facts into the record. “The accused directed (the victim) and they ended up on back roads that didn’t go anyplace except out in the middle of nowhere.”

Snow was drifting and road conditions were hazardous.

“The accused also said, ‘Just do what the f— I tell you or I’ll kill you,'” Nikota said. “This was said many times. When the accused said this he was screaming at (the victim) and she took the accused seriously.”

After a while the victim had no idea where they were, though it turns out they were approaching a deserted church parking lot in Fletcher, Kent County. McLaughlin grabbed the wheel and turned the vehicle into the lot, then turned off the car and tossed the keys on the floor.

He slapped her in the face and head several times.

“The accused then told (the victim) that she had to go down on him, and if she bit him he was going to smash her head in,” Nikota said. “The accused kept hollering at (the victim) to just do what he wanted. His exact words were, ‘Just do it or I’ll kill ya!””

When the victim asked why he was doing this, he said he was a “dead man” and didn’t care.

After the victim performed fellatio on McLaughlin, he forced her into the back seat, made her take off her clothes, then sexually assaulted her with his hands. He made her perform fellatio again, then masturbated himself.

Then he told her to drive him to Leamington. Around 6 p.m. on County Road 77 near the hamlet of Staples, however, the driver noticed a police car pull a U-turn. She stopped the vehicle even though McLaughlin yelled at her not to, and opened the door.

McLaughlin pushed her out, jumped in the driver’s seat, and sped off, keeping her purse and cab money. A number of police cruisers soon joined the 28-minute chase through various Essex County roads, as McLaughlin sped through slippery winter conditions at between 80 and 140 kilometres per hour.

McLaughlin managed to avoid a spike belt four times, though on the fifth try police punctured one of the vehicle’s front tires. The cab ended up in a ditch on Highway 3. McLaughlin was combative and refused to show his hands when a number of officers tried to pull him out of the vehicle. He suffered bruised and cracked ribs during the incident.

On Wednesday, McLaughlin pleaded guilty to robbery, kidnapping, sexual assault causing bodily harm, uttering a death threat, breach of probation, driving while disqualified, dangerous driving and resisting arrest. The Crown dropped five other charges including the more serious charge of aggravated sexual assault.

When Superior Court Justice Renee Pomerance asked McLaughlin a number of questions about whether he understood what he was pleading to and that the Crown would seek a dangerous offender application, the short but burly man — dressed in an untucked white shirt and jeans — repeatedly said in a low voice, “yes.”

Defence lawyer John Liddle said his client feels terrible for his actions, noting McLaughlin had been drinking alcohol and using cocaine before the incident.

“He is extremely remorseful for what happened,” said Liddle, adding that McLaughlin has never before been convicted of a sexual offence. “It’s easy to think that he operates without remorse. But I think that isn’t the case at all. At the end of the day when the judge hears all the information I think there will be a different image painted of who Mr. McLaughlin is.”

Pomerance will hear further submissions on the case Tuesday. Sentencing could take several weeks and may include a psychiatric evaluation.

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